Just 24 days are left until the New Orleans Saints officially kick off their 2024 season. The player of the day lies in the defensive back room with safety Johnathan Abram, who the Saints first signed in the 2023 offseason.
Here’s everything to know about Abram, who wears the No. 24 for the Saints:
- Name (Age): Johnathan Abram (24)
- Position: Running back
- Height, weight: 5-foot-11, 205 pounds
- Relative Athletic Score: 7.02
- 2024 salary cap hit: $1,065,000
- College: Mississippi State
- Drafted: First round in 2019 (Oakland Raiders)
- NFL experience: 6th season
Abram is a player the Saints added to fill some depth in the safety room behind Tyrann Mathieu and co. Abram began his career as a highly coveted player out of Texas A&M. After a slow start to his career, Abram came on to the scene in 2020 playing in 13 games for the now-Las Vegas Raiders. During that span Abram totaled 86 tackles and a career-high 6 pass deflections and two interceptions. Abram followed that up hitting another career-high with 116 tackles in 2021 before getting released by the Raiders in 2022. Abram would make two more stops to Green Bay and Seattle before heading to New Orleans in 2023.
With the Saints, Abram has spent most of his time playing a pivotal role on special teams while also providing needed depth in the backend. In his limited role, Abram was able to come up with 26 tackles in 9 games in 2023. His best performance came in Week 17 when he was given the start over rookie Jordan Howden against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In that matchup, Abram caught an interception and forced a fumble to keep the Saints playoff hopes alive going into the last week of the season.
In 2024, Abram is currently in a position battle with safety Jordan Howden for a starting role this season. Head coach Dennis Allen spoke recently about the position, acknowledging that they’re “not set” at that spot. With these comments and the teams visit with Justin Simmons, it doesn’t look like Abram has the inside track to a starting role on this defense. With that being said, Abram provides a fiery, energetic personality that the team can rally around, while also making an impact on teams as well.
